Tigers' late rally falls short in opener vs. Red Sox

AP PhotoDetroit's Placido Polanco scores after a double by Marcus Thames on Monday night against Boston.

BOSTON -- Despite trailing by four runs earlier, Monday night's game was there to be won -- or at least tied -- by the Detroit Tigers in the top of the eighth inning.

Magglio Ordonez led off with his third extra-base hit, a double off the top of the Green Monster, and Clete Thomas came in to pinch-run. Brandon Inge was hit by reliever Ramon Ramirez, and Gerald Laird bunted both into scoring position with one out.

But Adam Everett struck out swinging, and closer Jonathan Papelbon came on to face Curtis Granderson. He got Granderson to pop up to the catcher, and closed out the ninth inning against the heart of the batting order for a 6-5 Boston Red Sox win.

"You dig yourself a hole like that against a good team and it's tough," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We just couldn't get the one big hit."

Added Everett: "I had a chance to win the game and didn't do it. There's no other way to explain it. I just had to put the ball in play. The guys are playing back (on the infield). We battled and battled, and had a chance to take the lead or at least tie it; it's disheartening."

Boston had taken the lead in the bottom of the seventh off Detroit reliever Zach Miner. J.D. Drew and Casey Kotchman singled in between a 418-foot fly out by Jason Bay, who had homered off Fu-Te Ni in his previous at-bat.

TRACKING THE TIGERS

Monday's game: Starter Edwin Jackson struggled, falling behind 4-0 after two innings, but Detroit came back to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Zach Miner allowed the winning run in the bottom of the seventh, and the Boston Red Sox won, 6-5. Closer Jonathan Papelbon came in to bail out the struggling Boston bullpen.

Record: 59-52

Streaks end and continue: The Red Sox had lost six in a row overall, but won for the fifth consecutive time against the Tigers.

Key stat: Magglio Ordonez had two doubles and a triple. His career batting average in 42 games at Fenway Park is .384.

And Nick Green's sacrifice fly ended up being the difference in the game.

On paper, this was such a winnable game for the Tigers. They had All-Star Edwin Jackson and his 2.62 ERA that ranks second in the American League, while Boston countered with Brad Penny. He had a 5.20 ERA and one victory to his credit in nearly seven weeks.

Take that paper, crumple it up and toss it away. The Red Sox broke a six-game losing streak after having just been swept over the weekend in New York by the Yankees.

Nothing gets the locals on edge quite like that, but the Fenway Park faithful were revived almost instantly in this game. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the first inning with a double and Dustin Pedroia lined a homer over the Green Monster.

Boston also scored twice in the second, when shortstop Green hit his sixth homer onto Landsdowne Street and David Ortiz added an RBI single.

Jackson did not allow a run in the next two innings, but his night was over after leaving in the fourth having thrown 104 pitches.

"He was aggressive and went right after them," Leyland said. "And they were aggressive and whacked 'em.

"Our starting pitcher, who's been great all year, just was not sharp tonight."

He had gone more than three months without allowing more than three runs in a start. But he gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks in this one. It was the second time in his past three starts that Jackson did not make it to the fifth inning.

Fenway Park was not kind to him while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, and that did not change in his first outing here as a Tiger. Jackson is 0-5 with a 7.29 ERA in Boston.

"I don't have an answer (for Fenway)," Jackson said. "It's a tough lineup. They come out aggressive and hit the ball well."

However, he kept Detroit in the game. And with the way Boston's bullpen has struggled, that provided a chance for the Tigers.

The Red Sox, for all their relieving brilliance this season, have been miserable in that area of late. Boston's bullpen had given up home runs in six consecutive games and had a 6.52 ERA in the past seven games.

Detroit scored twice off the first Red Sox reliever, Manny Delcarmen, in the seventh inning. The success of that inning hinged on one tough at-bat by Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco. He was down 0-2 in the count, but then showed why he is the toughest batter to strike out in the American League.

Polanco, who whiffs just once for every 16.1 plate appearances, worked a full count. Then he slapped a single to right to score Laird, who led off with a double.

Marcus Thames doubled off the top of the wall in left to score Polanco and make it 5-5.

Ordonez scored Detroit's first run in the fourth with his first triple of the season. It got by right fielder Drew and caromed around the corner. Inge singled up the middle to score Ordonez.

Thames got his first RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Granderson, who had doubled.